School is returning to normal for students in areas of New Jersey hard-hit by Hurricane Sandy, but now comes the work of restructuring calendars to make up for lost time.

A number of districts were closed for two full weeks because of power outages and impassable roads, although the regularly scheduled teachers' convention break fell during this time. That means that eight days, not 10, will have to be made up in those areas.

Those eight days were built into the school calendar in case of inclement winter weather. Instead, a fall storm, Hurricane Sandy, wreaked such havoc on the township that a number of households got power back over the weekend and there were some lingering outages Monday.

The school has a generator, but it wasn't intended to keep school open, interim Superintendent Joanne Calabro said Monday, the first day back for students since Oct. 26.

But more importantly, said Calabro, the high school remained closed until Monday on the advice of township Police Lt. Steve Bartzak and Mayor George Fisher.

"They asked that we keep the school closed because it was so hazardous on the roads," she said. "There were so many downed trees and wires."

The superintendent said that the men felt that the storm damage could be "repaired much more efficiently without people on the roads." She said they also worried about the safety of buses, or parents, on the roads in the township.

Lambertville and Stockton students in grades 7-12 also attend South Hunterdon. Residents in both also suffered extended power outages.

Calabro will be meeting with the superintendents of the elementary districts within South Hunterdon to decide what to do if the region is hit with what's predicted to be a snowy winter. One date she doesn't want to change is graduation on June 20, saying that families' plans sometimes involve air travel for grandparents.

Her worry is the effect "really long, prolonged stretches of" school without a break will have on students and teachers. "Kids need the break, a little breather to rejuvenate them," she said. "Teachers need short breaks too. It's stressful."

Readington Township schools were also closed the two weeks following Sandy because power wasn't restored to the district's two largest schools until Friday, Nov. 9.

Delaware Valley High School was closed the week of Oct. 29 and the roof on one of its gyms was destroyed by the storm's winds. However, the school opened on Nov. 8 and 9 to make up two of the five days. That means that Sandy wiped out the three emergency closing days built in to the 2012-13 calendar.

Should a storm force further closures, students would be in session on Presidents Day and would then start to lose spring break.

These closings ate up all three snow days built in to the district's 2012-13 calendar and the two schools were among the many that made up two more days by opening on Nov. 8 and 9 because the annual teachers convention in Atlantic City was canceled.

District communications coordinator Maren Smagala said that still leaves North with one more and Voorhees with two more make-up days. In the past the district shortened breaks.

"However with the extraordinary circumstances of Hurricane Sandy and the fact that we have an entire winter ahead of us, we are looking at other options on how to make up days so we do not have to take away all holidays," she said. "The administration and Board of Education will be discussing the status of the calendar over the coming weeks."

At Delaware Township School all eight bus routes started running again on Nov. 12, even though buses still couldn't navigate some roads because of low-hanging wires.

The school had power back and reopened on Election Day with 90-minute delays the remainder of the week, as well as bus service only to six parking lots. That was because of the volume of impassable roads that remained more than a week after the hurricane hit.

Like North and Voorhees, Delaware Township opened Nov. 8 and 9, leaving it with four days to make up.

Superintendent Rich Wiener said that school officials within the Hunterdon Central area will meet on Thursday, Nov. 15, to discuss coordinating calendar changes to make up for lost instruction time.

Power was restored at Hunterdon Central more than a week ago, although buses only ran to and from the area's elementary schools last week. It also opened on Nov. 8 and 9, now leaving the high school with three days to make up before the summer recess.